Unity
|
|
The best time to reflect on unity is during a time of peace and when unity is fairly strong among us.
Romans 12:3, 9-16
1. Give up your pride .
– Three warnings about pride in Romans 12.
– Romans 12:4, Romans 12:16A; Romans 12:16B.
– Ask yourself some hard questions.
– How do you counter your pride?
2. Be determined to give honor .
Scriptures: Romans 12:3, 9-16; John 17:23; John 13:35; Proverbs 26:5; Romans 16:1-27
 |
PRINTABLE VERSION |
Our Worship…Blue Skies and Rainbows |
|
The women who attended last year’s Fall Fellowship in Western Montana worked on a quilt together… Now this quilt is made available for donation drawing with all the money going to bless Family Promise. Each square has been embroidered by one of the ladies and could make a wonderful keepsake. A drawing will be held on March 28. You can buy a ticket for the drawing for just $10 and you may own this beautiful quilt. Contact Alyson Klein or the church office to buy a ticket or just make a donation.
We are looking for a rocking chair… If anyone can donate one to the church building please let Michael or the church office know.
Remodeling update… Jim Klein is working hard at completing a new closet for all of Sandra’s cleaning equipment and some building and grounds down stairs. Betty Jo Clark has been painting the “old brown cabinet” downstairs that will become a new Family Promise storage cabinet. We are about to start remodeling our pantry area. Feel free to look around downstairs.
If you want to help… There are a number of small jobs you could do to help out. Painting, replacing cabinet hardware and so on. Just contact the office.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Ignite Fellowship
Once a month we are planning a Youth Group get together at a member’s home! Including: Dinner, Games, A Devotional, and Fellowship! The first Ignite will be at the Klein’s home on March 21st @ 5:00 p.m.
Youth Group:
Friday, March 12th
Time: From 6-8 p.m.
Movie: Facing the Giants
We will be starting a new devo series for youth group on Friday. It will be based off the class Not a Fan. Excited to start this study!
The women who attended last year’s Fall Fellowship in Western Montana had a lesson in embroidery… Each one embroidered a square, which was made into a beautiful quilt by Yvie Swaim. Now this quilt will be available for a donation with all the money going to bless Family Promise. This would make a 
wonderful keepsake for someone in our congregation. A drawing will be held on March 28. You can buy a donation ticket for the drawing for $10 and you may own this beautiful quilt. Contact Alyson Klein or the church office to buy a ticket or just make a donation.
Praise God! Praise God!
I believe our great God has responded to our prayers to break the back of the pandemic in our country and bless those making the vaccines and arranging ways to get these vaccines in the arms of every adult American who is willing to receive it. I was thrilled to hear the news yesterday about how every adult can be fully vaccinated by the end of May (there is still on-going research about how to best vaccinate children under the age of 14 and that should be determined soon). Do you know what all that means to me? My first thought is that sometime in May to early June we should be able to be more physically together as a church, and I am so pumped for that to happen soon.
James writes: “Every good gift comes from above (James 1:17).” While I appreciate living in a time of great technical and scientific achievement, while I understand scientific methods (and have been trained in them), I know every good gift that comes about managing and/or defeating this virus ultimately comes to us from God himself, more than any scientist.
Please, praise God for this good news about the pandemic. Pray it is a true breaking point in the pandemic. Please pray we will be patient in continuing to be careful in our behavior until we are mostly vaccinated. Please pray it will be easy for us to find a place to be vaccinated (remember this is a government operation so I assume there will be snafus and obstacles). Please pray God will continue to protect our congregation and help each one of us to prayerfully consider taking the vaccine. Finally, please pray we will be able to assemble together again as soon as possible.
God is good! I have no doubts He will bring about a good result soon.
Michael
Prayer Requests from February 28, 2021
Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall. 
Psalm 55:22
Chris & Nicole Rouse: Please pray for Nichole’s Aunt, Jean Cornett. She had a portion of her bowel resected and is having a hard time recovering.
Anonymous: So thankful for the elder’s encouragement to stay connected with each other and their personal notes every week. Thank you.
Dale & Diane Herboldt: Prayers for our neighbor, Jim & Liz Whipple as he deals with cancer. Pray for strength and healing.
Walter & Judy Brooks: Please pray for my brother, Howard Rude and niece, Sadie to heal fast from their knee surgeries.
Jack & Tabby Cutler: Thank you for your prayers for Rachel’s wisdom tooth extraction, it went well. Recovery is going textbook but Rachel would like prayers that it continues to go well.
AJ Stemmene: Pray for all the sick and hurting, the elderly being placed in care, my neurologist, and our leaders, for our country, this church and all the members. Pray for the outcome of Ryan’s MRI. Prayers for Bernie, my nephew and his marriage. God bless you all.
Glenn & Judie Sanborn: Mary Petersen’s biopsy was benign, Praise God. Pray for continued healing for Dave Hopkins and Howard Rude. Love one another.
Shannon Roush: Claudia asked me to put in a prayer request for Bobby Boyd. He really needs our prayers right now.
Larry & Sylvia Slate: Joe & Glenda Bonaiuto are so thankful for all the prayers and concerns for them. Mary Petersen’s test appears to be benign but they are going to keep a check on it.
Scott Rouse: What a blessing to see the Harlan’s and the Lundy’s with us today.
Jim & Judy Lundy: Good to be here, today.
Jim & Janelle Burton: Pray for those who are trying to find jobs and start careers.
From the Garden: Please pray for the return home of my husband and my kid’s father. His name is Tony. Please let my dad come home. Maverik Age 4.
Jim & Alyson Klein: Jim’s grandpa passed away from COVID. Please pray for his wife, Jeanne, who is recovering from COVID and grieving.
Dwayne & Bessey Campbell: Continue to pray for Jim Whipple and his cancer and family.
Church office: Please pray for, Ernie Turner’s daughter, Terri Garcia. She is having some serious health issues and will be going in for treatment soon.
Marsha Becker: Please pray for parents of children who have lost their way in this world, and help mend their broken hearts.
Unity
|
|
Romans 12:4-8
Different by Design:
1. The ultimate unity in the body of Christ is accomplished by Christ.
“Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God — this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is — his good, pleasing and perfect will.” -Romans 12:1, 2
Romans 12:5
“… so in Christ we who are many form one body…”
Always remember, what we hold in common is greater than how we differ.
Always remember, unity is NOT always natural. But it is always possible to choose in Christ.
2. Jesus re-makes us to be part of God’s house but we are always under-construction.
“Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.” -1 Corinthians 6:19, 20
“As you come to him, the living Stone — rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him; you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” -1 Peter 2:4, 5
All Christians are imperfect people who live in gratitude for God’s sacrifice that allows us to be IN CHRIST.
However, IN CHRIST we are all under-construction until one moment after we die.
3. God’s unity requires diversity.
The essence of beauty is unity in variety.
We lose something special when we lose diversity.
WE ARE THE BODY OF CHRIST… WE ARE THE MANY MADE ONE.
Do you think practice is boring? Try watching your teammates play while you don’t.
“But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body.” -1 Corinthians 12:18-20
“in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to one another.” -Romans 12:5
Click here to view our worship service live stream on Facebook…
Bible class begins at 18:25…
|
PRINTABLE VERSION |
Our Worship…Come Let Us Sing |
|
We have had so many coats given to us lately… we would like to pause on the coat drive for a while until we figure out a better way to store them. This congregation is amazing. Whatever the need is this group responds. Thank you, and we will let you know when we are ready for the coat drive to continue.
And while you are in such a generous mood… (sounds like a preacher doesn’t it?) But seriously, if you want to help with something else, we are beginning to collect “family oriented” DVD’s. We are going to arrange for a small theater where movies can be watched by our Family Promise clients. Just drop off (in our grocery carts) any kind children’s cartoon kind of movie or some movie about a dog or horse (or cat if you have to), something children would enjoy.
We still have plenty of projects to do around the building… For those of you with a pick-up truck and some muscles or if you have has a friend in good shape, we have a lot of broken desks and furniture, that we just don’t have a need for anymore. We would like to find a new home for these in our local junk yard… or we would be thrilled if you can use it at your house… It just needs to go away from the church building right now.
If you have fewer muscles… We have a number of painting projects to do around the building. Just let us know when you can come and we will set everything up for you.
Finally, we are looking for a couple of dressers… for the bedrooms we are setting up for Family Promise. Just give us a call if you need help getting it to the building and we will send Christian…He has lots of muscles:)
A Note of Encouragement
Have you ever missed the message in something important or overlooked the main point? This can happen to the best of us and probably has. We might have a portion of the message; a fragment or a version of the message; but we somehow have missed the main point!
I honestly believe my full-time job is helping people understand how to apply the Bible to their lives. If we truly want to follow Jesus, then understanding his message is a worthy goal!
This is where I have missed the main point of the “gospel” for so many years I have mixed up the order of this message. Simply said, I have been more focused on “correcting” people before I “connect” with people! Not Jesus. The title “friend of sinners” was a sign of success, I can imagine him smiling the first time he heard that phrase.
The goal of this note of encouragement is that friendships are far more important to God than we often realize. The closer we get to Jesus the more like ‘Him” we become and relationships and connecting with others come first and change comes later.
Dale Herboldt
